2nd wife says Peterson threatened her life

Drew Peterson pulled a gun on his second wife at least three times during their marriage and threatened to kill her so it would look like an accident, she testified Tuesday.

Ex-wife Victoria Connolly's description of her tumultuous nine-year marriage to Peterson mirrors accounts his third wife, Kathleen Savio, and fourth wife, Stacy, provided to friends and relatives about their relationships with the now-retired Bolingbrook police officer.

Prosecutors will use the symmetry to try to persuade Will County Judge Stephen White to allow 15 so-called hearsay statements that Savio and Stacy Peterson allegedly made into evidence when Peterson goes on trial for Savio's murder.

Sixty-nine witnesses have been called during the pretrial hearing, which will take a hiatus until Feb. 17. Closing arguments are expected that afternoon.

Connolly, who married Peterson in 1982, described how he became violent with her on several occasions and stalked her after they separated. One night, she awoke to find him standing over her.

"We did not exchange words at all," she said. "Drew turned around and left."

She testified Peterson cheated on her several times, including with a baby sitter.

The divorce was amicable, in part, Connolly said, because she did not go after Peterson's pension.

Prosecutors suggested a tug of war over Peterson's pension played a key role in Savio's death. They presented documents Tuesday that showed they fought over marital assets worth more than $893,000, including Peterson's nearly $324,000 police pension.

Savio had life insurance totaling more than $1 million.

Peterson also had nonmarital assets worth more than $528,000 in 2004, and his pension at the time was projected to be more than $97,000 annually. "He felt the pension belonged to the man ... because he worked hard for it," Connolly testified.

Under defense questioning, Connolly said she had been in discussions about a book deal but decided against it. However, she still would consider a movie deal.

Bolingbrook police Sgt. Craig Gunty testified that Stacy Peterson poured out her fears to him about a month before she disappeared. " 'If you guys knew what Drew did, it would make your head flip,'" he said Stacy Peterson told him.